Press Review - August 21, 2018

Relations between the EU and Azerbaijan, the situation in the banking system, and the rise in price of certain grades of gasoline and the possible consequences are the leading topics of today's media.

The newspaper Azerbaijan writes about relations with the European Union, which is the main investor and partner. The author notes that the history of these relations is 22 years old.

In 1996, an agreement on partnership and cooperation was signed between the EU and Azerbaijan. In 2004, the European Neighborhood Policy and in 2009 - the Eastern Partnership Program were signed. In July 2018, a document entitled Partnership Priorities was initialed.

The share of Azerbaijan's trade with the EU is 50% of the total trade turnover. In terms of investment, the EU holds leading positions, investing about 25 billion dollars in the Azerbaijani economy.

More than 1,500 EU companies operate in Azerbaijan. With 24 countries, double taxation has been eliminated.

The EU is also the main energy partner. For 7 months of this year, the EU countries exported goods worth 5 billion 489 million 727 thousand dollars.

The Yeni Musavat newspaper writes about the situation in the banking system. An expert in this area Akram Hasanov believes that the Central Bank should provide some support to banks. Although the most difficult period has been left behind, all the same the problems are not completely eliminated, the author writes. This includes troubled loans, capital shortage, the threat of closing banks, etc.

The newspaper Novoye Vremya, in an article titled "Endangering Start - Can We Expect a Chain Reaction?" writes about raising the price of gasoline of a number of brands.

Persistent rumors about the soonest rise in the gasoline tariffs, which, in turn, were denied by all sorts of officials, yet were confirmed over the weekend.

According to the new tariffs, the price of Аi-95 (Premium) became 1.50 AZN, and Аi-98 (Super) - 1.60 AZN. These government steps increase the degree of social tension in society. Neither oligarchs, nor high-ranking dignitaries, nor other money-bags will suffer. The burden will fall on the shoulders of the most vulnerable segments of society.